ICYMI: The Haunting Trailer for 'The Birth of a Nation'

From the opening note of Nina Simone singing “Strange Fruit,” it is clear that the first trailer for Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” is going to challenge your ability to hold it together. By the time you see a White girl happily skipping while holding a noose tied around a Black girl’s neck, you realize you’ve already lost it.

The trailer hit the Internet on Friday (April 15), giving those who weren’t fortunate enough to see the standout film of this year’s Sundance festival a first peak at Parker’s dramatization of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. We got goose bumps when Turner told the slaves he formerly counseled to submit to their masters to “sing a new song” and “execute vengeance on the demonic nations.”

We won’t spoil it with details: Just do yourself a favor and watch. “The Birth of a Nation” will hit theaters on October 7, 2016.